A Different Kind of Normal
by Eruanna17
Summary: Growing up with Shin and Yankumi as parents can't be easy, and it's certainly not normal, but it is always an adventure. Follow Shin and Yankumi's daughter Nanako as she tries to navigate life with her unusual family.
1. Family Honor (3,5,7)

**Chapter One**

**Hello All! I'm back with a new story! This is the third in my ShinKumi series, set after Out of the Ordinary and The Substitute, which you might want to read to understand parts of this story. If not, just shoot me a message and I'll try to help clear up any confusion. =)**

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><p>Sawada Nanako learned fairly quickly that her family wasn't normal.<p>

The first instance she could remember was when she wanted to bring a katana to school for Show and Tell.

"But whyyyyy?"

Her father sighed. "Because, Nanako, you can't bring a weapon to school."

"But whyyy?"

"Because someone might get hurt."

Nanako gave Shin an offended look. "Grandpa taught me how to hold a 'tana right. I won't get hurt."

Shin bit back a grin. "Grandfather taught you how to hold a katana _correctly_. And other people might get hurt. Not everyone knows how to be safe around weapons."

"Why?"

"Because not every family has katanas." Shin answered patiently.

Nanako's eyes grew wide. "Some peoples don't have 'tanas?"

"_Most_ people don't have katanas."

She stared at her dad as if he had sprouted horns. "They _don't_?"

He shook his head. Trying to wrap her head around this earth-shattering information, Nanako checked on all the other things she considered normal.

"Do most peoples have… have… grandpas?"

Shin laughed. "Yes, Nanako, most people have grandpas."

"Do most peoples have ramen?"

"Yes."

"What 'bout aunties?"

Making a face, Shin responded, "Well, not quite like your aunties. They're… special."

"What 'bout morning training?"

"No. Very few people have morning training. Mostly just crazy people." He rotated his shoulder and winced at the heel-sized bruise that was developing.

"Like you and Mama?"

Laughing, Shin scooped Nanako up and rubbed her nose with his. "Yes. _Exactly_ like me and Mama."

…

The next time was when she was trying to complete a project in class.

"Miss Teacher!" She waved frantically.

"Yes, Sawada-chan?"

"I don't have enough room on my paper for everyone."

"Now, Sawada-chan, this is just supposed to be for your immediate family, not everyone you know."

"But this _is_ my medium family!"

"Well, let's just focus on who lives with you. Do you have brothers or sisters?"

Nanako shook her head.

"Okay, so who else lives with you?"

"Mama and Daddy, and Grandpa."

"See, that's not so many. Now, let's write them-"

"And Uncle Minoru and Uncle Tetsu and Uncle Reita and Uncle Wakamatsu and Uncle Makoto and -"

By now most of the class was staring at her.

"How many uncles do you _have_?" The kid next to her asked in disbelief.

Nanako shrugged. "I dunno. I can only count up to twenty."

…

She also discovered a few nastier ways people had of telling her that her family was different.

"Give it back, Handa!"

The seven year old boy holding her onigiri sneered at her. "Only good guys get lunch, so you don't get any." He stuck his tongue out at a simmering Nanako.

"Just give it back, okay? I'm hungry."

"My dad says your family is a bunch of low-life criminals."

Nanako stood up slowly. "What?"

"That they're just a big bunch of bad guys. And your grandpa's the biggest thug of all."

Her eyes narrowed behind her glasses. "_What?_"

"Your. Grandpa. Is. A thug." Handa smiled, showing all of his perfect teeth before Nanako punched him in the face and knocked out three of them.

.

"Now, Sawada-chan, we expect more of you. You haven't caused any trouble before, and-"

"Nanako!"

She looked up at her mother's voice, and saw both parents stop at the sight of her. Her pigtails were askew, her glasses bent, and her shirt was covered in dirt and blood.

"What the hell did you do?" Her mother asked before Shin elbowed her and motioned to the shocked principal.

"Oh, uh, sorry about my language. I'm just surprised, is all. What happened?" Yankumi used her usual tactic of pretending her erratic behavior didn't exist and trying to distract any witnesses.

The principal still gave her a look before explaining, "We're not sure. Kento-kun claims that she just attacked him with no warning-"

"She did!" The boy in question shouted, who was sitting as far away from Nanako as possible, then flinched as Nanako glared at him.

"But," The principal continued, shooting Kento-kun an authoritative frown, "we found Sawada-chan's lunch box scattered on the ground, so we think she may have been provoked."

All three adults looked at Nanako, who was staring firmly at her shoes.

After talking to the principal, her parents escorted Nanako outside, where her mother wasted no time trying to figure out the situation.

"What were you thinking? A boy stealing your lunch is no reason to forget everything we taught you about fighting and violence! When you know how to fight, you have a responsibility to know when to fight and when to walk away. Even if he did look like a smug little-"

"Nanako," Shin said softly as he crouched down and peered under his daughter's shield of hair. She slowly looked up to meet his eyes. "What's going on?" He asked gently.

She scuffed her toe against the ground, then asked, "Are we bad guys?"

Her mother stopped mid-rant, then joined Shin at Nanako's eye level. "Is that what he said to you?" Yankumi inquired quietly.

Nanako nodded at the sidewalk.

Yankumi let out a breath and looked at Shin in concern.

"Are we?" Nanako asked again.

Her father met her gaze. "No. We are not."

"He said that Grandpa was a thug."

Without looking, Shin's hand shot out to grab Yankumi's arm before she ran off to give the boy a piece of her mind as well.

"Do you think Grandpa's a thug?" Shin questioned, not releasing his wife's arm.

Nanako shook her head vehemently. "No. But why do other people?"

Yankumi, once again focused on her daughter, sighed, then answered, "Because some other clans are bad people. Some of them hurt people, some of them steal money, and so people think that all clans are like that."

"But we're not? We're good guys?"

"What do you think?" Shin repeated.

Nanako thought back to how people in her neighborhood reacted when her grandfather and parents went into the market. Everyone was happy to see them, and even though he tried to hide it, Nanako could see when her grandfather talked to people, he often gave them money as he congratulated them on a new baby, or nodded sadly at the word of someone's passing.

The same respect expanded to her, as she was regularly given food to take home by people in the marketplace. When she asked the lady who pressed two fresh octopi into her hands why they were giving the food away, the woman simply smiled and said, "Because Kumicho takes care of us."

"I think… I think that we're good guys."

"Because we don't hurt people?" Shin asked in his teacher voice.

"No… well yes, but… because, because we help people. Grandpa, and you, and Mama, and Minoru and Tetsu, you all take care of people. That's what makes us good guys."

Her mother smiled and ruffled her hair vigorously, with tears in her eyes. "You're growing up so fast!"

"Mama!" Nanako shouted, trying to fix her already lopsided pigtails.

Suddenly, the doors behind them burst open to reveal a sour looking man pulling Handa along behind him.

The little boy gasped, and whisper-shouted, "Dad, that's _her!"_

The man, who was clearly Kento-kun's father, marched up to Shin and Yankumi. "Well, I hope you see what a negative environment you are bringing your child up in. Behavior like this only results from a truly appalling lack of good parenting, which is no more than I expected from a family with such poor role models."

Shin was amused to see identical expressions of anger flash across both his wife's and daughter's faces. Before either of them could escalate the fight from the afternoon, Shin simply responded, "Huh. That was exactly was I was going to say."

Both children and adults stared at him.

"What are you talking about? Your kid is the one who started the fight!" Kento-san replied angrily.

"My daughter was defending her family's honor. If at seven years old, your son knows only how to steal lunches and besmirch the name of others, then it's clear that he is growing up with a truly terrible example of what being an adult looks like."

Kento-san's mouth hung open.

"Yankumi, Nanako, let's go." Shin picked his daughter up, turned around, and walked away without a backwards glance.

By the time they were halfway home, Shin noticed Yankumi kept looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Something stuck in your eye?" He said after a while, then saw her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"I love you." She told him, then pulled him in for a kiss.

"Ewwww! Mama, Daddy stopppp!"

Her parents turned to look at her and she remembered that she was in trouble. "Oops."

As Shin set her down, Yankumi put her hands on her hips. "Alright, young missy. What is the first rule of fighting?"

Nanako sighed. "Fighting is only to be used as self-defense or to protect someone in danger."

"Was someone in danger today?"

"Handa was in danger of being a jerkface." She muttered, but her mother heard anyway (though she could have sworn she heard Shin stifle a chuckle).

"Nanako!"

She sighed again. "No, no one was in danger. But it was self-defense!"

Yankumi ignored her rebuttal. "Since you fought someone who was weaker than you and there was no one in danger, you will be cleaning the entire back porch until it shines."

"But-"

Shin interrupted. "No buts. You heard your mother. As soon as we get home, you can get Minoru to show you where the rags and bucket are, and then you start on the porch."

Reaching the Oedo residence, Nanako trudged into the house to find where Minoru kept the cleaning solution. She was moving slowly enough that she heard her parents' conversation from behind her.

"Only the porch? You're either getting soft, Yankumi, or going really easy on her."

"Of course I am. She won, didn't she?"

Shin laughed. "I'll go ask Minoru to make some hotpot for tonight."

Suddenly feeling much lighter, Nanako skipped over to the cleaning closet and started filling up the bucket with water.

Sure her family was different, but she wouldn't trade it for the world.


	2. Family Dinner (6 months)

**Chapter Two**

**Hello Readers! I'm trying something a little different with this story, where we jump around a little in Nanako's timeline, depending on how the muse strikes me.**

**Well, read, enjoy, and review! **

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><p>Reita had never really thought about babies before.<p>

He didn't really know anyone who had any, and Lord knows he was too young to think about having any of his own (although, to be honest, dating Natsumi made the idea slightly less impossible), so he hoped that the Oedo household understood that while he was fine holding baby Nanako every now and then, he certainly wasn't signing up to be their babysitter just because he was staying with them.

"Of course not! You're in college, not a nanny! We completely understand." Yankumi and her minions beamed at him.

Reita narrowed his eyes. "Really?"

"Absolutely! Don't you worry about a thing!" For some reason, (_probably experience_, his internal voice muttered), he didn't fully trust promises made without Shin or Kuroda-san as witnesses.

"Alright. I mean, I'm happy to help out, but it's just, I have homework, and exams, and…"

"Oh, we totally understand. We won't bother you a bit." If it was possible, Reita thought their smiles grew wider.

"Okay…"

"Yay!"

He really should have known better.

It sometimes felt like the whole Oedo clan was in a conspiracy to ambush him into holding Nanako.

Including Nanako.

For some reason, she seemed to like him. Well, not so much 'like' as 'stare at him intensely and slightly suspiciously'. But it was a better alternative to crying, which she did a lot.

He'd be quietly reading in the main room, then a piercing scream would sound from upstairs. Reita would then hear the elephant-like footsteps of Minoru rush into the nursery. When the crying wouldn't subside, Minoru would start singing (or bellowing, if you wanted to be technical), which just made the crying worse.

Reita would try to ignore the noise and focus on his book, but after a while, he could hear Minoru walk downstairs, then oh-so-casually pass by the door.

As soon as Nanako saw him, her screams subsided slightly. Once Minoru passed the doorway and Reita was out of sight, her volume immediately increased.

He wondered how on earth someone who couldn't even talk could be so cunning.

Minoru then wandered into the living room, totally as if by chance. Reita tried to studiously ignore him, but when he was right next to the table, Minoru suddenly gasped in false realization.

"Oh no! My rice! It's burning! Here, take Ojou-chan."

"Minoru, I'm trying-" Before he could finish, Nanako was thrust into his arms as Minoru rushed out.

Sighing heavily, Reita looked at the baby who had now stopped crying and was cooing contentedly.

"Look wingbaby, just because we had some good times does not mean we're buddies now."

Nanako tilted her head inquisitively.

"Plus, I don't even like babies."

She furrowed her brows at him, as if to say, _C'mon Reita, we both know I'm adorable and everyone loves me._

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, you're pretty alright, for a baby."

She babbled approvingly.

He looked at his book until a tiny hand grabbed his ear.

Raising an eyebrow, he turned back Nanako, who was trying to look deceptively innocent while still maintaining a death grip on his ear.

"Guess I'm not getting rid of you any time soon, am I?" When he received no response, he stuck his tongue out at her.

Nanako frowned at him, then surprised Reita by bursting into a high-pitched giggle so much he nearly dropped her.

"Did you just- Yankumi! Shin! Minoru! Kuroda-san! Everyone! Nanako just laughed!"

Variations of "What?" sounded throughout the house as the whole troop of yakuza rushed into the room.

"Her first laugh?"

"What did it sound like?"

"I can't believe I missed it!"

Reita waved his hand to try and calm them down. "Here, let me try something." He squinted at Nanako, then stuck out his tongue.

Sure enough, she squealed in delight, causing an echo of delighted laughter around the room as everyone marveled in how smart she was.

The next incident embarrassingly occurred when Natsumi was over for dinner.

She had been coming over more often, much to everyone's delight (although Shin's delight was combined with a large amount of suspicious glances between her and Reita).

They were having a lovely dinner (hot pot, as usual), with Yankumi balancing Nanako as she told Natsumi all about the latest shenanigans her class had gotten into. About midway through her story, Nanako began to cry, so Yankumi got up to make a bottle. As she headed towards the kitchen, she handed the baby to Reita, who took her without spilling any of his soup (which he was rather proud of). He patted her back with his free hand and reached for his tea before realizing that Natsumi was staring at him in shocked amusement.

"What?" He asked, drawing everyone's attention to Natsumi's reaction.

"Did she just _automatically_ hand you the baby?"

"Um…."

"And you just automatically took her?" Her grin was growing wider.

"Well…"

Natsumi turned to Shin with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you said you weren't treating him like a nanny?"

"We're not!" Shin objected.

Minoru chimed in. "It's just that Young Master Reita is the best at calming Ojou-chan down!"

Reita could feel himself turning red as Natsumi smiled at him.

"It's not like I hold her all the time!" He tried to explain, but Yankumi came back from the kitchen and tossed Reita the warm bottle, which he caught purely by instinct.

"Oh, remember to not let her drink it so fast, otherwise she'll spit up on you like last time." Yankumi reminded helpfully as Shin placed his head in his hands in exasperation.

Natsumi's eyebrows rose even higher as she tried to contain her amusement.

Defeated, he mumbled, "Just when she's crying. Or hungry."

Her grin gentled. "Stop worrying. I like that you're good with kids."

Reita perked up a little as Nanako started gulping down her milk. "Really?"

"Yeah. It's a great skill to have." She reached across the table to touch his hand, which he noticed caused Kuroda-san to grin behind his sake cup and Shin to glare at him.

"Well, I'm not good with kids, plural," He deferred, slightly embarrassed. "Just this one, for some reason."

Nanako took that as a sign to grab Reita's hair and yank.

As he tried to release his hair from the baby's grip, Natsumi gave him a soft smile that made his stomach somersault. "I'm glad."

He returned the smile as he reached for his tea.

"Oh, please. Can you not make goo-goo eyes at each other at our table?" Shin groused as he tried to finish his sake.

"What if we made goo-goo eyes in my apartment alone?" Natsumi countered, which resulted in both Shin and Reita spitting out their drinks.

"Which we have never ever done." Reita rushed to explain as soon as he could speak again. "Ever."

Kuroda-san guffawed loudly. "I like this one!" He announced proudly, which Reita could tell pleased Natsumi to no end.

It was when Yankumi burst into tears and starting weeping into Minoru's shoulder about how quickly Reita was growing up and how beautiful Natsumi was and how it was only yesterday that she saw Natsumi in the school courtyard and thought she was Shin's girlfriend that Reita covered his eyes and wished the ground would swallow him up.

But when Natsumi bit her lip and shot him a look as she tried not to laugh, he figured that while this family was completely and absolutely crazy, he had to admit that for some reason, he was glad he was part of it.


	3. Friendship (14)

**Chapter Three**

"You nervous?"

"No, Mom. I'm not nervous."

"Because there's no need to be nervous. It's just the first day of the second year of junior high at a new school. There'll be hundreds of new kids just waiting to be your friends!"

"Mom."

"And just because it's in a new place where you don't know anyone, and everyone probably knows everyone else in that school, that doesn't mean it still won't be the best year ever."

"Mom…"

"And I know last year was a little rough-"

_"Mom."_

"But I know that this is just going to be a wonderful, stupendous, amazing year, where you can reach for your dreams by running toward that bright, shining-"

"Dad!"

"Yankumi, leave the poor girl alone." Shin interrupted his wife's 'pep talk' as he joined his family by the door.

"I'm just telling her how unbelievably amazing this year is going to be!"

"Unbelievable being the key word." Nanako muttered. Shin bit back a smile as he shushed her.

Kuroda struck the stones of blessings at them, and the whole clan shouted to "Watch your back!"

As they headed down the street, Yankumi chattered away about how she was sure how this year her precious students were going to be so inspired and so stimulated by her teaching and her passion that this was going to be the best year ever! Shin nodded along while occasionally giving Nanako small, careful looks.

Nanako resisted the temptation to roll her eyes, mainly because of the small voice that remarked, _They're both just looking after you. In their own way._

She glanced to the side. _Well, they don't need to._

If her internal voice had a face, it would have raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Here we are!" Yankumi announced proudly, gesturing to a gray building. "Keio Junior High!"

Nanako stared at the school, trying to ignore the knots forming in her stomach.

"Ready?!" She turned to see her mom smiling widely with her hand extended.

"Mom, I'm too old for fight-o."

"What?! No one is ever too old for fight-o! Come on!"

Nanako looked at her dad beseechingly, but he added his hand to the pile and gave her a half-smile. "The sooner you do it, the sooner you can go in." He told her, amused and unsympathetic.

She sighed, then stuck her hand on top of Shin and Yankumi's. As her mom beamed at her, Nanako muttered softly, "Fight-o."

"Come on! Louder!" Yankumi shouted.

Shin smiled as Nanako opened her mouth to argue, then closed it and said, a bit louder. "Fight-o!"

"OH!" Her parents echoed, embarrassing her to no end. A clock chimed, and Yankumi suddenly realized she was late for her staff meeting.

"Okay, bye, love you, have a great day at school!" Yankumi yelled as she rushed off.

Shin and Nanako waved after her as she disappeared, and then turned back to look at the school.

After a few moments of not moving, Nanako heard Shin say, "You're going to be fine."

"I know." She responded, but even she didn't quite believe it.

Shin looked at her, then tapped her shoulder. "Hey." She glanced at him. "You be proud of who you are, and everything will work out."

Nanako tried to nod, but the imposing gray walls pulled her gaze back.

"Plus," Shin continued. "I have Tetsu and Minoru on standby. One text and they'll blow the walls down and bust you out."

That finally brought a small smile to Nanako's face. "Dad, I not going to need a rescue."

"I know. But sometimes it's nice to know it's there. Just in case."

Father and daughter grinned softly at each other, and that gave Nanako the courage to take a deep breath, straighten her shoulders, and walk through the school's gate.

"Go get 'em, kid." She heard Shin say from behind her.

The morning went as expected. A few curious looks from other students as the teachers went over the syllabi, but nothing too out of the ordinary. The real difficulty came during lunch, when she found herself standing on the edge of the cafeteria, holding her bento box and trying to find a place to sit.

Shoving down her anxiety, she imagined herself as an onna-bugeisha; surveying a new land, trying to distinguish enemy from ally.

Suddenly, she spotted a nearly empty table, with only one girl eating by herself. Nanako's eyes lit up.

_Perfect! Maybe she's new and doesn't have any friends either!_

Smiling widely, she made her way over and set her lunch down across from the other occupant.

"Hello! My name is Sawa-"

"Go away." The girl hissed at her.

Nanako's smile faltered. _Maybe she thinks I'm recruiting for a club, or selling something._

She tried to explain her good intentions. "No, no, I'm not here to bother you, I was just looking for an open seat, and everywhere else seems full, so-"

"I said leave. Now. Before they see-"

A new voice interrupted. "Well, well, well."

Nanako turned to see four girls wearing matching plaid pink hairbows (what were they, five?) and sneers walk up to them. The one in ridiculous heels (heels? They were at school, not a club for heaven's sake) looked at the two girls and crossed her arms disapprovingly.

"What do we have here?"

The girl at the table ducked her head quickly. "Nothing." She murmured.

A girl with hot pink nails pouted mockingly. "Aww, does Riko the Rat have a new friend?"

Nanako's seating companion suddenly flushed bright red and muttered, "She's not my friend."

Tall Heels and Pink Nails shook their heads with false pity, while one of their friends patted her on the head.

"Poor Riko the Rat. Never has any friends to play with." As she smiled, Nanako thought that she'd be very pretty if she didn't have so much make-up smothering her face.

"Always alone." The last girl added with a high-pitched giggle, joining the others in crowding around a clearly uncomfortable Riko.

"Why do you call her that?" Nanako asked, diverting their attention away from the other girl.

Clown Face laughed. "Because. If you try and have any kind of fun, she'll rat you out."

Giggles and Pink Nails nodded, while Tall Heels added, "Her dad's a cop, you know. It's in her blood."

This was apparently hilarious, as all four of them started snickering.

"Was someone going to get hurt?"

Nanako's question seemed to be some sort of faux pas, as the group of girls (including Riko) stopped and stared at her.

"What?"

"During your 'fun', was someone going to get hurt?"

Pink Nails narrowed her eyes. "So what if they were?" Her voice carried a hint of challenge to it.

Shrugging, Nanako commented, "Well, it's not ratting people out or tattling if someone's going to get hurt. Then it's just doing the right thing."

As she was met with uncomprehending stares, she decided to elaborate. "Tattling is to get someone in trouble. But if someone's in trouble, you're supposed to help them out."

More silence.

"It's common curtesy." Nanako had to contain a smile. She liked shocking these girls.

After a moment or two, Tall Heels snorted. "Whatever, Freak."

Giggles laughed. "Yeah, Freak."

With that cunning comeback, all four of the Preppy Squad turned and stomped away.

Ready to share in this victory with her new friend, Nanako's smile was cut short with a curt, "Just leave me alone," from Riko as she too walked away.

That night, at dinner, Yankumi asked around a mouth full of fish, "So, did you make any new friends today?"

Sighing, Nanako answered, "No. I don't think I did."

…

The next few days passed quietly, with the Preppy Squad occasionally shooting her sneering looks and giggling behind their hands, which she ignored with the occasional eyeroll. She kept an eye out for Riko, but only saw her once that first week, after school. Nanako came around a corner and saw Riko getting clothes out of her locker, her hair plastered to her head and her clothes stained with white and yellow.

Riko looked up, saw Nanako, then glared and slammed her locker shut. Nanako opened her mouth to say something, anything, but before she could speak, Riko turned and left. Suddenly filled with shame, Nanako walked home quietly, thoughts and memories tumbling in her head.

Determined, she waited for Riko the next day in the locker room. When the taller girl arrived, once again covered in egg whites and yolks, she grit her teeth at the sight of Nanako and started to leave.

Knowing her window was short, she shouted, "I know a place to wash your clothes for free!"

Riko paused, then looked over her shoulder slowly.

Waiting in trepidation, Nanako was gratified when Riko finally asked, "Where?"

Beaming with a wide smile, she answered, "Follow me!"

Towing Riko (who was dressed in Nanako's too-short gym clothes) along behind her like a reluctant kite, Nanako bounced along until they reached their destination.

"Here we are!" She announced triumphantly.

Riko stared. "A ramen place?"

"Not just any ramen place, the _best_ ramen place! Come on!"

Raising an eyebrow, Riko entered the doors of Kumai Ramen and watched Nanako shout, "Hello Auntie Ami!"

"Nanako-chan! So good to see you!" A smiling, plump woman emerged from behind the counter. "And who's this?"

"This is Riko! We were wondering if we could use your laundry machine?"

"Of course! Let me take those dirty clothes."

As Ami-san reached for the bag, Riko blurted out, "There was an accident in Home Ec. A cooking accident. And my machine at home is broken. And there's no Laundromats nearby. That's why I-"

Ami smiled warmly at her. "It's alright, dear. It's no trouble at all. You just have a seat and these will be out in no time."

Riko watched her leave, then noticed Nanako had disappeared. Looking around, she spotted her in a booth slurping noodles.

Walking over, Riko asked, "Where did you get that?"

Nanako gestured wildly. "Hma hffm mng fvr."

Rino blinked as she slid into the other side of the table. "Well, sure. That makes sense."

Suddenly a bowl of ramen appeared before her. "Here you go! On the house." A large man beamed at her until she smiled uncertainly back.

"Fanks Funfle Fuma!" Nanako waved as she spoke with her mouth full of ramen.

"No problem, Nanako-chan!"

Once the man had returned to the kitchen, Riko stared at Nanako. "So, who are these people?"

"Ah, well Auntie Ami is married to Uncle Kuma, who isn't really my uncle, but I've known them my whole life, so they're basically family. Plus, we eat their ramen like, every week, because it's the best ramen in Japan, and I help out sometimes when it's super busy, and Uncle Kuma was one of my mom's first students, so there's a special bond that only exists between teacher and-"

"First, breathe." Riko interrupted. "Second, you get free ramen because your mom was this guy's _teacher_?"

Nanako nodded as she stuffed more ramen in her mouth. "Yup."

Riko stared incredulously. "Why?"

Looking up, Nanako answered, "I told you. The special bond between a teacher and her students is one without equal in the entire-"

"Look. Most of my teachers don't even know my name. What makes your mom such a special teacher?"

She jumped a little as Kuma showed up without warning. "Because Yankumi is the best teacher in the world." He told her, smiling face suddenly serious. "And she changed my life."

Eyes wide, Riko could only say, "Seriously?"

Nanako and Kuma nodded in sync. "Seriously."

Ami-san arrived to tell Kuma he was needed by a customer, and to let Riko know her clothes were dry. As Riko went to go change, Ami turned to Nanako.

"Is she a friend from your new school?" She asked in a friendly tone.

Nanako sighed. "I'm not sure."

Ami smiled gently. "She trusted you enough to come here. That means something."

She returned Ami's expression, then asked, "So, what was it?"

"Eggs." Ami shook her head in disgust. "Not very creative, are they?"

Nanako frowned in thought. "Bullies never are."

…

When she arrived home, the minions (except for Wakamatsu, who was with Kuroda-san at a yakuza meeting) looked up in greeting, then looked rather confused at the several dozen eggs Nanako was carrying.

"Minoru!" The man in question flinched as he recognized the militant tone all the Sawadas used in combat. "I need you to throw eggs at me!"

Tetsu and Makoto quietly edged away from Minoru, who looked appropriately terrified.

"Ah, Ojou-chan, I don't know if-"

"Too bad! Back yard, now!" The fire in their Ojou-chan's eyes allowed for no argument, so Minoru ended up in the garden, reluctantly throwing eggs while covering his eyes as the rest of the minions peeked out from behind doors.

Despite her best efforts, Nanako's hands were soon covered in yolk as each egg that didn't miss her entirely broke in her hands. Gritting her teeth and shaking off the residual shells, she shouted for Minoru to toss another one.

He had just launched the egg into the air when a voice yelled, "What is going on here?"

Nanako turned to see her mother standing on the patio with her hands on her hips as Shin hung back, looking amused, just in time for the egg to smash into her cheek.

"Ow." Nanako muttered as yolk slid down her cheek.

"Well?" Yankumi demanded.

"Um, it's a project for school! You have to catch an egg and not have it break."

Her mother suddenly looked interested. "Oh? What subject is this for?"

Caught off guard, Nanako stalled, "Uh… it's for…."

"Sounds like physics to me." Shin commented from the back.

"Yes! Physics!" Nanako repeated eagerly, shooting her father a grateful look.

"Ooo! Any luck?" Yankumi asked, examining her daughter's clothes.

"Not so far." She answered, discouraged.

"Well, never fear! As a dedicated math teacher, it should be easy for me to calculate the best method for not breaking these eggs!" Yankumi declared. "Tetsu! Makoto! Go get us more eggs!"

"Yankumi, you teach algebra, not physics. I don't think-"

"You can catch more eggs than me? You're probably right!" Yankumi shouted as she grabbed an egg and lobbed it at her husband, who quickly ducked out of the way.

"No way in hell!" He called back as he took up a defensive position near the corner.

Pandemonium broke out as everyone scrambled for ammo and cover, mobbing Tetsu and Makoto when they returned from the store. Nothing could be heard except for smashing shells and tactical insults for the next hour, until Nanako dodged an underhanded throw from Yankumi and watched the missile fly past her and hit her grandfather square in the chest.

"Oji-chan!" She shouted in shock. Silence fell immediately as Kuroda-san stared at the yellow yolk dripping down his kimono, then slowly looked up.

"Why are you all having an egg fight?" He asked with deliberate care.

Nanako grasped for an answer. "Um, well, you see…"

"Without me?" Kuroda finished with a pout, then scooped up an egg and launched it at Yankumi. "Quick, Wakamatsu!" He commanded with a grin. "Grab a carton for our supply!"

With a scream of delight, Nanako entered the fray once more, pelting as many eggs as she could lay her hands on, and trying to catch any object thrown her way. She had just pinged Tetsu in the back when she saw it was a feint for Minoru to throw an egg from behind a bush. Turning slightly, she cupped her hands and moved them backwards as the egg gently landed in her palms. Unbroken.

She stared at it for a full minute before thrusting the egg up in the air and shouting, "I did it!"

The battle ceased as everyone gathered around Nanako and her egg, and Yankumi explained the original intent behind the egg war to Kuroda. After demonstrating what she had done, Shin volunteered to throw another one and see if it could be duplicated.

After some trial and error, Nanako found the secret to catching eggs was to follow the arc of the egg's motion while turning sideways. As soon as she redirected the motion of the egg to crash at Shin's feet, the minions erupted into cheers and paraded her around the patio, flush with victory. Once they let her down and announced that her reward was to be the first one to use the bath, Shin gave her a smile and ruffled her sticky hair.

"Good job, kid."

She grinned at him. "Thanks Dad."

…

The next day, Nanako watched Riko like a hawk, while trying not to look like she was a crazy stalker (and not quite succeeding from the looks she got while hiding behind pillars). Her vigilance paid off when, just before lunch, Riko went out the west entrance, followed by the Preppy Squad looking particularly pleased with themselves. Sneaking down to the door, she peered out into the small courtyard.

"For the last time, I didn't tell the Principal anything!" Riko protested to the unsympathetic group.

Tall Heels shook her head. "What a little liar. We don't like people who lie to us, do we girls?"

The three other girls grinned and readied their aim.

"No we don't." Clown Face answered. Riko swallowed.

"Let's show her what happens to liars." Pink Nails jeered, then all of them launched their eggs into the air.

Riko flinched and covered her head, waiting for the impacts. There was a crunch of gravel and then four staccato smashes, but nothing hit her. She opened her eyes and saw Nanako standing in front of her, with yellow yolks spread out around her feet in a perfect semi-circle.

Giggles blinked in shock. "How did you-"

"Let me explain something very clearly to you." Riko stared at her, surprised by the gravity in Nanako's voice. "Your little reign of terror ends here and now."

"I don't think you understand how this school works-" Tall Heels started.

"I don't think you understand, actually. You think acting like this makes you in charge, in control, somehow. You're not. It makes you all cowards."

All the girls gaped at her.

"You shouldn't be bullying someone for doing the right thing, you should be ashamed of yourselves that you didn't. The fact that it takes four of you to get up the courage to harass an innocent girl makes all of you absolutely pathetic." The contempt was loud in Nanako's voice.

"Listen, _Freak_," Pink Nails hissed, "you can either leave now, or we will make your life here hell, and you will severely regret it."

"First, 'freak'? That's as creative as you can get? Seriously? I mean, if this conversation wasn't so annoying, I'd be bored. Second, was that a threat of physical harm to my person?" She inquired curiously.

"Yeah, it was." Tall Heels sneered. "What are you going to do about it?"

An echo of "Yeah"s sounded from the other girls.

"Well, if it was, then I would have enough evidence to get all of you suspended from school and have it listed on your personal records, which would disqualify you from most universities."

"Wait, what?" Giggles asked after a moment of stunned silence.

"Your parents may not care if you're cowardly bullies, but I'm pretty sure being unable to get in to any university would get their attention."

Clown Face tried to rally. "Y-you can't do that."

Nanako shrugged. "My mom's a teacher and my dad is a lawyer. I'm pretty sure I know what I can and can't do."

The group traded confused looks until Tall Heels stumbled on an idea. "It'd just be your word against ours!"

Tilting her head, Nanako conceded the point. "True. True. That is, if I wasn't recording this conversation." She held up a small recorder. "Oh, look at that! I am!"

As the girls fidgeted, Nanako spoke with a voice that commanded attention. "So, now that we've established that information, let's discuss your future." Her eyes narrowed. "None of you will ever bully anyone at this school, or anywhere else, ever. Bullying is an act of cowardice and cruelty. True strength is fighting for those who can't fight for themselves, and standing up for the oppressed. And if I ever hear of any of you harassing anyone else…"

She clicked the recorder off ominously.

"You'll be the ones who regret it."

After a moment of staring, the Preppy Squad took a few steps backwards and then collectively retreated.

Grinning with the satisfaction of a well-fed cat, Nanako turned to see Riko gawking at her in disbelief.

"Who are you?" She finally asked in a tone of awe.

Nanako's face changed from self-confident to confused. "I… I'm Sawada Nanako. We had ramen the other day?"

"No, no, I know who you are, I just…" Giving up, Riko straightened and walked toward the cafeteria. "Never mind."

Shrugging, Nanako skipped along behind her.

Once she had settled at her table, Nanako opened her bento box slowly, savoring the smell of the rice and fish Minoru had packed for her. She took a huge bite of the onigiri, then froze as she saw Riko set her tray down across from her.

She opened her mouth to celebrate, but was interrupted by Riko. "If you scream 'Yay', or 'Friends Forever' or anything ridiculous, I am walking away."

Swallowing her words and her rice, Nanako tried to contain her joy by simply beaming at Riko and anyone else who crossed her path.

As the school day ended and she walked toward the school gate, Nanako saw her parents waiting for her.

"Mom! Dad!" She waved, then trotted over to them with Riko trailing uncertainly behind.

"Did your egg project succeed?" Yankumi asked excitedly.

Nanako smiled widely. "It did! Super well!"

"Yay! Project Win Over New School with Awesome Egg Catching Skills: Success!" Yankumi shouted, and she and Nanako punched the air triumphantly.

"…What just happened?" Riko inquired slowly.

Shin and Yankumi turned from the celebration to see who had spoken.

"Oh, hello. We didn't see you there. I'm Sawada Shin and this is Kumiko. We're Nanako's parents. Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm a friend of Nanako's. My name is-"

Her next words were drowned out by Yankumi rushing over to Nanako, nearly toppling over Shin.

"You made a friend?"

"I did!"

"You did! Yay! Super Power Lucky Fight-o, OH!"

"OH!"

Riko looked at Shin. "Do they…?"

"Do this a lot? Yes. Yes they do." He answered with a sigh of resignation. "Anyway, I apologize for the interruption. What was your name?"

"Shinohara Riko."

All the Sawadas fell suddenly silent.

"Shino…" Shin started.

"…hara?" Yankumi finished with a squeak.

Riko glanced between them. "Um, yeah."

The silence stretched out awkwardly as both adults seemed immobilized by shock.

"Is your family… alright?" Riko whispered to Nanako, who looked at her frozen parents and their ridiculous expressions of surprise.

Nanako responded with an apologetic shrug and a half-grin.

"You know, most days, I'm not sure. But you know what? I'm okay with that."


	4. Family Expansion (5)

**Chapter Four**

Reita had never felt anxious in front of the Oedo house. Odd, considering it was the headquarters for the largest yakuza clan in the country, but it had always brought him a sense of peace, calm, even homecoming.

Until now.

As he raised his hand to knock, he froze before he could make a sound. Like the other six times he had tried, Reita's hand refused to touch the wood.

_You're being ridiculous,_ he scolded himself. _Just knock on the damn door already!_

He tried a seventh time, but before he could succeed, the door slid open on its own.

"Oh, Master Saiga! I wasn't expecting to see you here. What a pleasant surprise." Hina Ayaka smiled warmly at him in greeting.

Reita attempted to return the gesture. "Oh, uh, hello Ayaka-san."

"I was just visiting Asakura." Blinking, Reita belatedly remembered Asakura was Tetsu's other name. "He's so lucky to have such a kind Kumicho. Is that who you're here to see?"

"What? Oh, um, no. I was… Do you know if Shin's here?"

She tilted her head with a curious grin. "Why I believe he is. Would you like me to-"

"No, no, no, I'm fine. I mean, it's fine. I can find him myself." Reita stumbled through his sentence and was chagrined to see Ayaka-san's smile grow exponentially.

"Well then. Good luck with whatever you're here for." She nodded at him slyly, then walked out to the gate.

Wincing at how idiotic he felt, he entered the house and called out a tentative, "Hello?"

He saw a small head cautiously poke out from one of the rooms, then heard a voice scream loud enough for the whole house to hear, "_UNCA REITA!_"

Tiny feet pounded down the hallway as Nanako threw herself at Reita, who caught her just in time, and swung her up into the air.

"Hey wingbaby! You're getting so big! How old are you now?"

Nanako proudly splayed all the fingers on one hand.

Reita squinted. "How many is that? Three?"

"No!" Scolded Nanako. "I'm five!"

"Five? You can't be five! You must be two."

"Nuh-uh, I'm _five_."

"Four?"

_"Five!"_

"Six?"

"I'm _fiiiiive._" Nanako pouted until Reita bounced her in the air, until she shrieked with laughter.

"What on earth is going on down here?" Shin asked with a small grin as he came out into the hallway.

"Daddy, Daddy, look! Unca Reita's here!"

"I can see that. Hello Reita. What brings you to our home?"

All his temporarily-forgotten anxiety came flooding back. "Oh, uh… I was hoping to talk to you. Can we… I mean, are you…?"

Taking pity on him, Shin motioned into the front room, and called for Minoru to make some tea.

"Alright, Nanako, Daddy and Reita are going to talk now. Why don't you go read one of your books in your room?"

"No, no, it's completely fine if she stays." Reita added hastily. "I brought a present for her."

Before Shin could respond, Nanako had latched on to one of her favorite words in the whole world. _"A present!?"_

Reita smiled and pulled out a small maze. "See the silver ball? You've got to move the maze back and forth to get it into the center. Think you can do that?"

Nanako nodded furiously and started to navigate the ball through the corridors, sticking her tongue out in concentration.

"That was very kind of you." Shin said as they both settled at the chabudai.

"No problem." Reita answered, then started fidgeting nervously.

As the silence stretched out, Shin simply raised an eyebrow as he waited.

"So I've been dating Natsumi." Reita tried to comment conversationally.

"I am aware." Shin responded.

"For a while now. You know, a few years."

Shin gave a solitary nod.

"And I figured… you know, now that I'm out of university, and I've got a job, and she's got a job, and there's some money now, not a lot, but more than nothing, which is what I had for a while…"

Reita paused, then took a deep breath and finished in a rush, "I'm-going-to-ask-her-to-marry-me-and-I'd-like-your-blessing. Please."

The silence was broken by Nanako abandoning tactics for her game and resorting to smacking it on the ground in order to get the ball where she wanted it.

"What if I said no?"

Reita blinked. "Huh?"

Shin's face stayed perfectly blank as he asked, "If I said no, what would you do?"

"I…" Reita swallowed, then lifted his head to meet Shin's gaze. "I'd still ask her. And I think we'd both be disappointed that you said no, but that wouldn't change my mind. Sir."

His eyes narrowing, Shin leaned across the table and Reita leaned back slightly. Then Shin burst into a wide smile.

"Right answer."

Reita let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Oh good."

Taking a sip of his tea, Shin asked, "So, I assume you haven't asked my father yet?"

"Um, no. I wanted to ask you first."

"For practice?"

"No, no, because you're so important to Natsumi and me, and we really wanted your blessing. But yeah, also for practice."

Shin nodded in understanding, then stood up.

"Alright, let's go."

"What? Where?"

"To my parents'. I'm coming with you-"

Reita rose as well and interrupted, "I think this is something I need to do on my own."

"So my dad won't kill you." Shin finished.

There was a slight pause, then Reita nodded. "You know, that actually sounds like a good idea. I need a ride anyway."

Shin asked Tetsu to bring the car around, then glanced at Nanako, who was giving her maze a death glare while shaking it furiously.

"Did you keep Nanako in here on purpose to use as a shield?"

"Um… yes. But only if necessary."

"Hmmm."

Reita looked at Nanako, then suggested, "Should we bring her with us?"

"Yeah, I think that might be a wise move. Just in case."

.

.

.

"It's so nice of you to invite me here!" Natsumi told Yankumi and Shin as Nanako raced ahead.

"Well, Nanako loves her Auntie Natsumi very much, and she wanted all of us to go to the gardens together." Yankumi responded with a wide smile.

"I'm sorry Reita couldn't make it, but he's just been swamped with work lately, and he sends his love."

"Oh, well, I'm sure he was working on something very important." Shin answered, receiving a sharp elbow in his side from Yankumi.

Before Natsumi could notice, Nanako came bouncing back up the path.

"Auntie 'Tsumi! Look at the rock I found!"

"Wow, that is a very pretty rock." Natsumi agreed with a smile.

As Nanako beamed at her aunt, Yankumi coughed significantly. "Nanako, didn't you have a game you wanted to play with Aunt Natsumi?"

The five-year old blinked. "I did?"

Yankumi facepalmed as Shin suggested, "What about Hide and Seek?"

"Okay." Nanako shrugged in acceptance, then paused as understanding dawned on her face. "Oooohhhhh. Yeah. Hide and Seek! C'mon Auntie 'Tsumi!"

Shin also facepalmed as Nanako dragged her aunt to a different part of the gardens.

"Okay, you have to close your eyes, and then count to twenty, and then you come find me!"

"Alright, here I go! One, two, three, four…"

After a few rounds of hiding and giggling, Nanako pulled Natsumi into a vine-draped gazebo.

"Okay, okay, this time, you have to count to… a hundred!"

"One hundred! Oh boy, that's a big number. Better find a good place to hide!"

"But this time, you have to kneel down. Just because. It's a new rule."

Natsumi laughed and knelt down. "Alright, Nanako. Ready, set, go! One, two…"

With her eyes closed, she heard Nanako run off, and then picked up some rustling outside the gazebo. Fairly certain her niece had hidden behind the ivy, Natsumi allowed herself to skip a few numbers.

"Ten, twenty, thirty-two, forty-six, fifty-one, eighty-seven, ninety-nine… one hundred! Ready or not, here I come!" Smiling, she opened her eyes and started to get up, then froze in surprise.

"Reita!" She couldn't understand why Reita was also kneeling in the gazebo across from her.

"Um, hi." Reita answered nervously.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well…" In lieu of an answer, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

Covering her mouth with her hands, Natsumi said. "Oh my god."

"Yeah." Reita cleared his throat. "So I wrote about a thousand speeches for this… and they were all really terrible."

Natsumi gave him a small smile in response.

"But one thing they all had in common was that… I love you. And I'm not going to say that I can't imagine my life without you, because I can. I think about what my life would be like if I hadn't met you, or Yankumi, or Shin, and it's dark and scary and… hopeless. But it makes me so happy and grateful that I did meet you.

"And you… you make everything better, just by being you. Everything around you is happier and brighter and better. Including me, which is pretty impressive because I'm pretty screwed up." He added a self-deprecating half-grin. "I love being around you, and I want to be around you for the rest of my life.

Taking a deep breath, Reita readied himself. "So, Sawada Natsumi, will you-"

"Yes!"

Thrown off, Reita asked, "What?"

"Yes!" Natsumi repeated with a wide smile.

"Oh! Great!" He paused. "Should I finish asking?"

"Yes."

Unsure, he tried to clarify, "Yes to finish, or-"

"Just go!"

"Sorry. Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" She said as she rushed to embrace Reita.

"Oh good. I was kind of worried what your answer might be." He teased as he kissed her.

As he slid the ring onto her finger, they both heard rustling outside of the gazebo.

"Why are they both kneeling?" Natsumi heard Shin whisper.

"Because they're _pa-posing_ Dad. Duh."

Laughing, Natsumi called out, "You can come out now."

"Finally. I think I may have swallowed a bug."

"Kumiko, how do these things even happen to you?"

Nanako burst out of the vines and bounced straight into Reita's lap. "Are you guys married now?"

Reita chuckled. "Not yet, wingbaby. But soon." He and Natsumi smiled at each other.

"How did you come up with this?" Natsumi asked as Nanako seized her hand and stared at the shiny diamond.

"Well, I thought this was a beautiful place, and since Nanako were there when we met, I figured that she should be here for the next step. Was it okay?"

Natsumi grinned softly. "It was perfect." Then she kissed him again.

"Ewwww! No smooching!" Nanako covered her eyes.

"I'm with you, Nanako. Smooching is gross." Shin agreed as he picked his daughter up.

"Hey!" Yankumi protested.

"Except when we do it." He amended with a wink. "Come on crew. Let's go celebrate."

"Yay! Can we have candy sticks to celebrate?"

Yankumi laughed. "Sure. Candy sticks for everyone!"

"Yay! You should pa-pose to Auntie 'Tsumi every day, Unca Reita."

Holding Natsumi's hand a little tighter, Reita smiled. "Okay, wingbaby. I'll try."


	5. A Fun Fight (17)

"…and then, they have to go even further into his mind, so they hook up the machine to-"

"Wait, which level is this?"

"So, the one with the rain was the first, the one with the hotel is the second, and then they go into the third, which is all snowy, but then they-"

"Well, well, well. Lookit here boys. Looks like we found something interesting." The two girls stopped and looked up to see a group of six teenage boys, all holding long metal pipes.

"Aw, man." Nanako said in annoyance, then asked her companion, "How does this always happen to us?"

"Because you always pick the sketchiest shortcuts because you want this to happen." Riko told her with a raised eyebrow.

"_Whaaaaaaatt?"_ Nanako protested insincerely, then glanced at the rather confused looking boys. "Well, since we're here…"

"No." Riko's voice was stern. "I would like to be on time for our movie. For once."

"Aw, c'mon, we're doing the city a favor! Cleanin' up the streets, makin' the nights safer… your dad would thank us!"

A voice yelling, "Hey!" from the alley was completely ignored.

"No, he would not. If he had any idea what you do for '_fun'_,", Riko paused so Nanako could see her application of air quotes, "he'd probably go into conniptions."

Nanako put on her best winning smile. "Don't you feel like a superhero though? Just a tiny bit?"

"Strangely enough, you putting my life in danger does not make me feel like a superhero."

"Oh, come on, you're never in any real danger. And your form needs work-"

"Yeah, but the fake danger works just as-"

A voice further down the road interrupted them. "HEY! _Shut. Up."_

Both girls slowly turned to regard the offender.

"Now _that_ was rude." Nanako rebuked him.

"You girls need to learn that when _I_ talk," he jabbed his thumb at his chest, "_you_ listen."

The boy, who was the obvious leader of the gang pointed his weapon at them to illustrate his point. There was a chorus of, "Yeah! You tell 'em, Daiki!" from most of his followers. (Although Nanako noticed one boy crossing his arms and staring pointedly to the side.)

Riko rolled her eyes while Nanako shot her a pleading glance.

"Please? I mean, they're basically ask-"

"No. Movie. On time. You promised."

Heaving a dramatic sigh, Nanako turned to the wanna-be gang.

"Alright kids, normally, I'd love to play, but we have a movie to get to, so how about I let you off with a warning this time?"

Daiki gave a disbelieving half-grin. "You let _us_ off with a warning? Heh, nice try. Empty your pockets."

Both girls stared.

"Is this a _robbery?"_ Riko asked incredulously.

Daiki jutted his chin forward as the guys behind him nodded smugly. "Yeah, it is. Paying attention now?"

"_Seriously?"_ Nanako practically squeaked. "This is terrible!"

"Heh, now you've got it. Now give me your wal-"

"No, no, I'm saying this is a terrible set-up for a robbery!"

Confused silence fell over the gang, as the one kid who was standing off to the side finally looked up in interest.

"What?" One of the taller boys said from the back.

"First, we're high school students. We have no money. Second, you really should have looked at our uniforms." Nanako announced, pointing to the emblem on her sweater. "We do not go to a wealthy school, so clearly our parents don't have money."

"Third, this is not where rich kids hang out. You should really be the street over by-"

Riko coughed loudly to interrupt, then hissed, "Stop teaching them to be better criminals!"

Nanako whispered back, "This is professionally insulting! They're clearly amateurs, and they're giving the rest of the yakuza a bad name!"

Shaking her head, Riko was about to speak when Daiki shouted, "Trust me, once they hear about us, the yakuza will be begging us to join!"

Nanako's eyes narrowed and Riko grabbed her before she could charge the group. "Just ignore them."

"I… but… they…" The shorter girl gesticulated wildly.

"Alright, I have had just enough of you _bitches_. Now give me your money!"

Both girls went very still, and now Riko's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What did you just call us?"

The taller boy answered, "You heard us, bitches!" and the others joined in with their own insults. The silent boy, however, leaned over and told Daiki, "Hey, maybe we should just go."

Emboldened by the chorus of shouts behind him, Daiki shoved him away. "Shut up, Isao. Let's teach these bitches a lesson!"

Riko clenched her jaw, then looked at Nanako. "Alright. Go for it. But make it snappy."

Her grin wide and feral, Nanako nodded. "No problem."

Faster than Riko had ever seen her, Nanako sped toward the gang. She stopped suddenly to grab Daiki's wrist and slam it against her knee, causing the pipe to fall to the ground. He tried to punch her with his uninjured hand, but she slid her back in front of him, took his arm in both hands, and flipped him over her shoulder. Two of the other boys tried to rush her with their metal pipes, but she delivered a powerful roundhouse kick into the side of the first one, then ducked and spun into a crescent kick aimed at the next guy's shoulder. Dropping their weapons, they stumbled back, ignoring Daiki's breathless shouts to attack.

Nanako bared her teeth in a victorious smile, then turned to regard the last three boys. "Who's next?"

Screwing up their courage, the tall kid and his friend tried to split her attention by moving to either side of her. Nanako's eyes flicked from one to the other, her stance low and ready. Suddenly, the smaller boy darted at her, flailing with his fists. While she parried his frantic blows, the taller boy took advantage of the distraction and viciously kicked Nanako's ribs.

Cursing and knocked off balance, Nanako turned her momentum into extra force as she pounded her open palms into her attacker's chest. As he fell back, she turned and chopped down on the other boy's shoulder with a knife hand strike, effectively numbing his arm.

This just left the boy Daiki had called Isao. Nanako readied herself, then noticed that he had done nothing but stare since the fight started. It wasn't a look of fear, which she was familiar with, but looked almost like bewildered curiosity.

The moment was abruptly broken by Daiki getting up and shoving Isao at her before making a run for it. Nanako caught Isao purely by instinct, but unfortunately (due to the same instinct), automatically twisted him toward the ground.

Daiki, smug now that he was out of range, shouted back, "You'll regret this! I'll find you and make you sorry, you c-"

His monologue was cut short by Riko planting her knee firmly into his abdomen, halting his headlong run. Once she had his attention, she kneed him again, this time between his legs, then lightly pushed him backward.

"Watch your language." She remarked from above.

"Nice form!" Nanako shouted with admiration.

"Thanks! I've been working on it."

"I can tell! You put a lot of power behind your strikes, which is - oh yikes, I'm sorry, are you okay?" The question was directed at Isao, who had landed on the ground with his face.

Nanako knelt down and poked at his nose, which resulted in Isao flinching. "Ow!"

"Sorry. Just making sure it isn't broken. You're gonna be fine." She smiled encouragingly at him, which only resulted in another look of incredulous wonder.

"All good over here." Riko called, where she was tightening zip ties behind Daiki's back.

"Awesome! I'll get the others." Nanako answered, getting up and applying zip ties to the other prone boys.

"Let me teach you idiots something about the yakuza." She announced after they were all restrained. "The yakuza would never take in such dishonorable cowards as yourselves. You think robbing and beating teenage girls is brave? No! Preying on the weak is the utmost form of cowardice, and reveals that you have nothing but fear in your hearts. Can't even fight fair, because you're so afraid of getting hurt. And if any of the clans heard that you were using their name to carry weight, believe me, they would not be happy. They would not be happy with you, specifically. And trust me, you do not want the yakuza unhappy with you. Are we clear?"

Taking their wide eyes and frightened stares as an affirmative, Nanako nodded authoritatively and walked back to Isao. After checking him for any other obvious injuries, she sat back and said, "Alright, we're going to let you go."

Isao glanced up in surprise. "What?"

Nanako gave him a small smile. "You were the only one to try and get your friends to leave, you didn't join in the name-calling, and you honestly didn't even look interested until the fight started. It looked like you were only here because you had nowhere else to go. Plus, I get the feeling that these aren't exactly your friends."

He furrowed his brows and shot her a confused look.

"Your fearless leader threw you under the bus, metaphorically speaking, the second he could save himself. Not really much of a friend."

Rubbing his face gingerly, Isao muttered, "They're just looking out for number one. Everyone does it."

When he heard only silence, he looked up to see Nanako's face twist in a combination of heartbreak and pity.

"Not everyone." She answered softly, causing him to stare at her again.

"Ahem." Riko coughed from nearby.

"Oh! Right! Okay, you should run…" Glancing around, Nanako pointed down the alley to her left, "that way. The fuzz will be comin' from downtown, so you've got a few minutes." She pointed in the opposite direction and nodded wisely.

"…The fuzz?" Isao repeated slowly. "Who _are_ you?"

Nanako's eyes went wide and her voice climbed a few octaves. "Well would you look at that, we've really got to go so put some ice on your nose otherwise it will swell and we'll see you later bye!"

She grabbed Riko's arm, ignoring her friend's exaggerated eyeroll, and marched off in the direction of the theater.

"Your yakuza was coming through pretty strong back there." Riko commented once they had walked a ways.

"I can't help it! I start fighting and my blood boils and I really just want to command an army and topple a government or something."

"Well, can we see our movie before the government toppling?"

"Oh, of course. By the way, did you want to call the cops, or should I?"

"I'll do the anonymous tip. You always like to throw a masked rescuer in the mix."

"It's compelling! No one can resist a masked man rescuing two helpless girls from a gang of evil thugs. It's a classic! Does he have superpowers? Is it a woman in disguise? It keeps the imagination alive!"

"Uh-huh."

"It does!"

"I've told you that you're crazy, right?"

"Oh yeah, all the time."

"Alright. Just so long as you know."

"Yeah, but the crazy is part of what makes me so fun!"

Riko hid a smile. "Uh-huh."

"It is!"

"If you say so."

"I do say so, and as my best friend, you have to agree with me."

"I don't think that's how normal friendship works."

"It totally is. And since when has our friendship been normal?"

"Fair point. Alright, I agree."

"Yes! Operation Nanako is Always Right: Success!"

"Seriously?"

Laughing and bickering amicably, the two girls walked into the night, enjoying just another regular evening out.


	6. Fresh Beginnings (17)

Isao had never liked school.

When he was younger, boys bullied him, pushed him around, so he made himself smaller, quieter, less noticeable. That lasted until junior high, when he found himself two heads taller than any of his classmates. He couldn't be invisible anymore, so he joined whichever group would leave him alone. His height and silence scared off most of the other kids, and he preferred it that way.

(It's what he told himself anyway. He mostly believed it.)

He attended enough school to pass the first two years of high school, but when his final year started, he couldn't see the point of going. Some days he couldn't see the point of anything. But he couldn't stay home, so he joined Daiki and his wanna-be gang. They mostly just wandered around and scared tourists, but in the past few weeks, Daiki had been pushing them to go bigger, to make a name for themselves, to make the yakuza notice them. He wasn't happy about robbing people, but they were mostly rich kids, so who cared if they lost some money? Probably deserved it anyway. So his nights fell into a general, predictable pattern.

Until he met that girl.

"_Who's next?" Her teeth were bared in a victorious smile as she turned away from the fallen forms of the other gang members._

He had never seen anything like what she did. She was fast and feral and almost... exultant while she fought.

Twitching in annoyance, he tried to focus his thoughts on something else. Anything else.

Daiki had called him nonstop for a week after the fight, but then had suddenly stopped. Isao wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Daiki wasn't the worst, as far as leaders went, but he liked violence a little too much for Isao's taste. But at least they had given him someplace to be, and people to be with. Even if they were just using him. Everyone did.

"_Not everyone." Her eyes were wide, sympathetic. Caring. When was the last time anyone had spoken to him like that?_

Sitting up, he rested his face in his hands and wondered if he should listen to the little voice that wanted to find her. See her again.

Unlike Daiki, he had noticed the school emblem on her uniform. It was for Adachi High School, the girls' school across the street from Fuchu, the one he should be attending. She was telling the truth when she said it wasn't a rich kid school. Normally even the thought of going to school required more effort than he wanted to spend, but if it mean he might see her, maybe even find out who she was...

Isao looked up as he heard the door to his father's room slam loudly. He knew his window of time was short, so he threw on his uniform and snuck outside as quickly as he could. When he walked up the street to his school, he tried to peer over the walls of the girls' side. Nothing.

"Hey!" An authoritative voice shouted, and Isao turned to a tall angry someone who acted like he owned the place. "Class started twenty minutes ago! Get to your homeroom now!"

When Isao just stared, the man grabbed the back of his jacket and dragged him into the hall, ignoring Isao's protests.

"You look like a 3-D student if I've ever seen one, and believe me, I've seen them all." The man, who also had an awful haircut and glasses, grumbled to himself as he propelled Isao through a classroom door.

"One of your delinquents, Yankumi. Do try and keep them in line." And with a sneer, the man stormed out, leaving Isao to face the curious looks of classmates (who he hardly knew) and a dorky looking teacher at the front (who he had never seen before).

"A new student! How exciting!" The small woman in a tracksuit beamed at him, as if she actually was excited. "What's your name?" She asked as she grabbed her attendance list.

After a moment of silence, Isao slumped into a seat in the back and muttered, "Takahashi Isao."

"Takahashi... Takahashi... Oh! There we are!" She marked off his presence with a checkmark and a wide, satisfied smile.

"Now! Who would like to tell Takahashi about the math trick we just learned? Anyone? Anyone?"

A boy coughed accidentally, then winced as the teacher heard.

"Thank you Hotaka! See what a dedicated student he is to help out his teacher and new friend? Go ahead, now."

Isao rolled his eyes and waited until the day was over. The only thing different about this year so far was that weird little teacher with the glasses and pigtails. She acted like she enjoyed teaching the lowest level of kids in this school, but who knew why. Maybe she was delusional.

Once the final bell rang, he stood near the gate to try and get a good vantage point on the exit to Adachi as class ended. A wave of girls emerged, and he thought he'd never find her, but he spotted the tall girl that was with her that night, half a head taller than the sea of dark hair and plaid skirts. She split off from the crowd and Isao saw that the mystery girl was there too. He moved along the sidewalk, careful to keep a good distance back.

"...can't study at the library tonight. Minoru's making hot-pot!"

The tall girl laughed. "I feel like he makes that every night."

"Just on special occasions!"

"Like Thursdays?"

The girl stuck out her tongue at her friend, then waved. "See you later, Riko!"

"Bye!"

Riko then headed straight forward as the other girl turned left down the street. Isao's cover got harder to maintain as the girl walked down streets with fewer and fewer people. He glanced around and realized that this was a rough neighborhood. A really rough neighborhood. What the hell was she doing here? Suddenly, she headed down an alley that had no people whatsoever. In an attempt to stay inconspicuous, Isao hugged the side of the wall and tried kept quiet. That lasted until he banged his shin on an abandoned pallet.

"Son of a-" he hissed to himself, but then saw the girl pause and start to look around.

He dove down behind a nearby dumpster, and hoped that the piles of junk around him were enough cover. After a few seconds of not hearing anything, he peered around to see that the alleyway was totally empty. Confused, and a bit disappointed, he sat back and looked up to see the girl tilting her head at him .

"Gyah!" He yelped, then stared at her. "How the hell did you-"

"What are you doing here?" The girl asked in an puzzled tone.

Isao glanced to the side. "Walking."

One of her eyebrows quirked up with a half-smile. "In this neighborhood? Little dangerous, don't you think?" She inquired archly.

"What about you?" He flung back, and watch her half-smile turn into a smirk.

"I can take care of myself."

Flashes from the other night flooded his mind. Her speed. Her skill. Her frightening grin.

She knelt down to look him in the eye and repeated, "What are you doing here?"

As all the other times in his life when he had nothing to say, he found a point on the ground and stared at it.

"You know what I think? I think you go to the boys' school across from mine." She gestured to the crest on his jacket. "I think you remembered what school I go to after I talked to your not-very-nice friends, and I think you wanted to find me."

She didn't sound angry, oddly enough, so he chanced meeting her gaze.

"What I can't figure out is why." She looked at him as if the answer was hiding somewhere on his face. "Not for revenge, otherwise you'd have jumped me as soon as there were no witnesses. Not to thank me, because I feel like you're not the overly emotional type. So why?"

And as he focused on her, knowing that she had every right to be angry or upset or scared that he followed her, and seeing only curiosity, he let the question that had been plaguing him slip out.

"Who are you?"

She blinked. "Is that why you wanted to find me? To find out who I am?"

He glared at the wall again.

"Hmm." Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her process this information. "Okay, tell you what. I'll make a deal with you."

Isao glanced at her from underneath his brows.

"You come to school every day for a week, and I will tell you my name."

He blinked in surprise. That was not was he was expecting.

"What?"

"One whole week of school, and I'll tell you who I am."

He stared. He should say no. A sane person would say no. No normal person talked like that.

But the whole conversation only increased his need to know... _who the hell was she?_

"Deal?" She asked.

"I could just ask someone," He pointed out in a low tone.

"You could." She gave him a strangely intriguing half-grin. "But I don't think you will."

Before Isao could properly categorize the feeling in his stomach, she grabbed his elbow and hauled him up.

"Okay, let's get you out of here. This is a pretty rough neighborhood, you know."

* * *

><p>"Wait, you actually said 'You could, but I don't think you will'? Seriously?" Riko asked on Monday morning.<p>

"Yeah. Why?"

"You were flirting with him!"

"I was not! I was trying to get him to come to school, and I think it worked!" Nanako beamed with pride.

"That was definitely flirting. And – oh my God, is he your 'one-a-year' guy?"

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Oh, c'mon. Every year, the first day of school, you fall in love with the first guy who whacks you in the face with his backpack, or trips you on the stairs, or breathes in your general direction. You moon over them the entire year, imagining the flowers at your wedding, the names for your pets, and then school ends and _boom!_ It's like they never existed."

"That is not true at-"

"What about Kosuke?"

"Oh. Well he -"

"That year with Eiichi?"

"He transferred after -"

"And Hiroaki?"

"That was -"

"What about -"

"Okay, okay. You made your point."

Riko frowned. "Although, you're never able to flirt with your 'one-a-year' guys. Just ogle and stammer yakuza nonsense. Do you even know how to flirt?"

"Of course I do. And I am not having this conversation with you." Nanako answered as she peered anxiously around the crowd of students.

Riko reached out to touch her friend's shoulder. "Nanako, I don't think he's coming."

"He will! He promised!"

"Nanako..."

"Do you think he knows it's Monday? Sometimes it's hard to remember what day it is."

"Nanako -"

"You know, it's really easy to oversleep, especially after the weekend, and maybe he was catching up on some of his home– Isao! Over here!" Spotting the lanky boy walking down the sidewalk, Nanako jumped and waved in order to make sure he saw them.

Riko guessed by the wince that he had indeed noticed them, and wasn't too thrilled about it.

After walking up to them in a manner that suggested this was not his idea, Nanako smiled broadly. "This is my friend Shinohara Riko."

"Takahashi Isao." He murmured, avoiding eye contact.

Riko raised an eyebrow. "We've met."

She was pleased to notice he looked ashamed of the circumstances of their first encounter.

As the bell rang, Nanako turned to Isao. "Okay, so we'll see you after school! Or during lunch, if you want to meet us in the courtyard. We found this great place over by the trees, and it's warm, but there's shade so it's not too warm, and then after school we usually study on the second floor of the library." She gestured towards the shared building that bridged the two schools. "Oh, but you should get going before the second bell rings. We'll see you later!"

With a barely concealed eyeroll, Isao walked over to the gate to Fuchu high school. He turned back and saw Nanako waving enthusiastically at him, and quickened his pace.

Nanako sighed happily as she watched Isao enter the building. "Operation Get Isao to Attend Class and Improve His Future: Success!"

Riko narrowed her eyes at the boys' school. "Are you sure that it's a good idea to hang around someone who was part of a gang and tried to follow you home like a creepy stalker? What if he tries to murder you?"

"First, I can take care of myself. Second, you saw him with that gang. He didn't join in the name-calling, he didn't attack when their leader said to, he was clearly there because he didn't have anywhere else to go."

The shorter girl also stared at the boys' school, but with a look of sympathetic concern. "And he's not violent. I know violent people, and trust me, he's not one of them."

"Well, if he isn't violent, then what is he?"

Nanako could see Isao pause at a window and look down at them. She gave him a smile and another encouraging wave, which caused him to stare at her as if she was nuts before moving away.

"You know," She commented in a soft tone, "I think he's alone. I don't think he wants to be... but he is."

Riko looked at her friend with a fond half-smile. "You always see the best in people."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Nanako teased.

Riko's small smile grew. "It's not."

The second bell rang, and as the girls headed toward their class, Nanako gave one last look toward the boy's school, hoping that this was the start of something new.

* * *

><p>Isao did not understand this teacher.<p>

She didn't look like other teachers, with her pigtails and tracksuits. She didn't talk like them either, with her rough speech and her occasional curses. But the way she acted around them... like she actually cared. Like she wanted to help them.

And it was like the other kids were falling for it, too. He had clearly missed some giant bonding moment, as most the of other students didn't regard her with the usual amount of distrust or hostility reserved for teachers. Some even seemed to treat her with something like fond exasperation.

Isao rolled his eyes. Whatever spell this weird teacher had cast on the rest of the guys wasn't going to work on him. The bell finally rang for free period, and Isao had had enough. He slipped out the door and headed to the outside stairwell to make his getaway. He looked back at the door for just a second to make sure no one saw him, but when he turned back, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Gah!"

"_What_ do you think you're doing?" The shorter girl asked as her friend crossed her arms.

Isao glanced around. "How the hell did you get up here?"

"Um, we walked." Mystery girl said as if it was obvious.

"No, how – nevermind."

"And by the way, the deal was you had to go to school for a whole week. Skipping out in the middle of the day does not count." She raised an eyebrow in rebuke.

Blowing out an annoyed breath through his nose, Isao stared at a point to the side.

His reaction had no effect, as she continued happily, "Plus, if you leave now, you won't get the present I have for you!"

He paused, then turned and furrowed his brows at her.

"I'm going to give it to you at lunch, so we'll see you then, okay?"

Still hesitant, he eyed her dubiously. His instinct told him to get out of there, and how no one actually gave gifts to people who were basically strangers, and how this could all be some sort of trick...

But her smile never wavered, and she was beaming at him, for all the world as if she actually did have a gift for him. He had never met anyone who emanated an air of such... sincerity.

His gaze shifted to Riko, and it was the taller girl's protective stance that ultimately convinced him that this was real. She wasn't acting as if she was in on some scheme, she was acting more like she also thought her friend was strange, but she was used to it by now.

Somehow, Mystery Girl took his silence as an affirmative. "Okay, see you then! Oh, you should probably get back to class before the next bell rings."

Then she proceeded to smile at him with the force of a sun until he finally turned around and slowly headed back to the door.

* * *

><p>"Told you he'd skip. You owe me lunch." Riko commented as they sat down in the shade.<p>

"It's his first day. He probably just got overwhelmed." Peering around the building, Nanako was clearly distracted.

Riko sighed. She didn't want to crush her friend's excitement, but she highly doubted that Isao was-

"There he is!" Nanako pointed triumphantly as the lanky boy slowly made his way towards them, trying to make sure he wasn't seen by any of the other students.

He slouched onto the table and promptly stared off to the side, but Nanako's exuberance could not be ignored for long.

"I'm so glad you found us! It can be a little tricky sometimes, depending on if the trees are blooming or not and sometimes the cicadas are so loud you can't hear anything and you keep thinking one of them is going to jump on you and-"

Isao's stomach rumbled loudly, interrupting Nanako's rambling and causing Isao to wrap his arms around his abdomen in embarrassed anger.

Riko coughed, then asked, "Were you going to give us time to eat with this speech of yours?"

"Oh, of course!" Nanako chirruped, then pulled several bento boxes from her bag. "As an encouragement for understanding the importance of school and learning and interacting with others and discovering valuable lessons about life and love and friendships-"

Noticing that Isao's eyes had gone rather wide and confused, Riko leaned in and whispered, "She does this a lot. The key is finding the rhythm and jump in with something important enough to distract her." Addressing her verbose friend, Riko joined in, "are all very important, yes. But so is not starving to death."

The smaller girl did not miss a beat. "Oh yes! And so, I present you with... a lunch made with passion for learning!" She smiled broadly and pushed one of the boxes over to Isao, who regarded it with suspicion.

"Open it!" She encouraged, and with a small glare and raised eyebrow, Isao pulled the top off to see a circular rice ball with two white triangles on top, decorated with strips of seaweed.

"It's a cat onigiri!" Nanako announced, clearly pleased with herself. "Nyah!" She meowed for effect.

Riko tried to smother a smile at Isao's look of confusion. "Do I want to know what's in mine?" She asked.

"You have a practice cat onigiri," Nanako explained, slightly sheepishly.

Rolling her eyes in good humor, Riko waited for her friend to say "Itadakimasu!" before digging in to her more panda-like snack.

Isao stared at both of them, then poked cautiously at his cat onigiri. He noticed the other girls studiously not looking at him, so he quickly took a small bite, then dug in.

Nanako flashed Riko a smug smile across the table, then turned back to her own bento box.

After school, Nanako enthusiastically waved good-bye to Isao as Nanako shook her head in amusement.

"Bye Isao! See you tomorrow!"

She turned triumphantly to Riko. "Operation Feed Isao's Mind and Body: Success!"

"You can't keep treating him like a stray kitten, Nanako. Eventually he's going to scratch you."

"Kittens only scratch when they're scared or trapped. If you give them time and space, eventually they'll come out." She smiled at Riko. "They might even purr."

Riko sighed fondly. "You always see the best in people."

Nanako punched her gently and finished the familiar refrain. "You say it like that's a bad thing."


End file.
